Blizzard v. Sec'y
| Decision Date | 01 June 2017 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 3:14-cv-650-J-34JBT |
| Parties | ADAM BLIZZARD, Petitioner, v. SECRETARY, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, et al., Respondents. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida |
Petitioner Adam Blizzard, an inmate of the Florida penal system, initiated this action by filing a pro se Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (Petition, Doc. 1) under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. In the Petition, Blizzard challenges a 2008 state court (Duval County, Florida) judgment of conviction for first degree murder. Respondents have submitted a memorandum in opposition to the Petition. See Respondent's Answer in Response to Order to Show Cause and Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (Response, Doc. 8) with exhibits (Resp. Ex.). Blizzard submitted a brief in reply (Reply, Doc. 12), and a notice of supplemental authority (Doc. 15). This case is ripe for review.
On December 6, 2007, the State of Florida charged Blizzard by indictment with first degree murder. Resp. Ex. A, Indictment, at 37-38. Blizzard proceeded to trial, and the jury found him guilty on May 2, 2008. Resp. Ex. A at 124. Blizzard filed a motion for new trial, which the court denied. Resp. Ex. A at 125-127. The court sentenced Blizzard to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Resp. Ex. A at 153-58.
With the benefit of counsel, Blizzard appealed his conviction to the First District Court of Appeal. Resp. Ex. J. The State filed an answer brief (Resp. Ex. K), and Blizzard filed a reply brief. Resp. Ex. L. On November 20, 2009, the First District Court of Appeal affirmed Blizzard's conviction and sentence per curiam without issuing a written opinion. Blizzard v. State, 22 So. 3d 540 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009) (table); Resp. Ex. M. The mandate issued on December 8, 2009. Resp. Ex. N.
Blizzard later filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus in the First District Court of Appeal (Resp. Ex. O), which the court construed as a petition alleging ineffective assistance of appellate counsel pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.141. Resp. Ex. P. The First District Court of Appeal issued a per curiam opinion expressly denying the petition on the merits. Blizzard v. State, 44 So. 3d 601 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010); Resp. Ex. Q. Blizzard filed a motion for extension of time to file a motion for rehearing or rehearing en banc, which the appellate court denied.1 Resp. Exs. R, S.
The Petition appears to be timely filed within the one-year limitations period. See 28 U.S.C. § 2244(d).
In a habeas corpus proceeding, the burden is on the petitioner to establish the need for a federal evidentiary hearing. See Chavez v. Sec'y, Fla. Dep't of Corr., 647 F.3d 1057, 1060 (11th Cir. 2011). "In deciding whether to grant an evidentiary hearing, a federal court must consider whether such a hearing could enable an applicant to prove the petition's factual allegations, which, if true, would entitle the applicant to federal habeas relief." Schriro v. Landrigan, 550 U.S. 465, 474 (2007) (citation omitted); Jones v. Sec'y, Fla. Dep't of Corr., 834 F.3d 1299, 1318-19 (11th Cir. 2016). "It follows that if the record refutes the applicant's factual allegations or otherwise precludes habeas relief, a district court is not required to hold an evidentiary hearing." Schriro, 550 U.S. at 474. The pertinent facts of this case are fully developed in the record before the Court. Because this Court can "adequately assess [Blizzard's] claim[s] without further factual development," Turner v. Crosby, 339 F.3d 1247, 1275 (11th Cir. 2003), an evidentiary hearing will not be conducted.
Federal habeas review "is limited to deciding whether a conviction violated the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States." Estelle v. McGuire, 502 U.S. 62, 68 (1991) (citations omitted). As such, federal habeas "does not lie for errors of state law." Id. at 67 (quotations omitted). "[I]t is not the province of a federal habeas court to reexamine state-court determinations on state-law questions." Id. at 67-68. As such, federal courts may not review claims based exclusively on state law issues even if theclaims are "couched in terms of equal protection and due process." Branan v. Booth, 861 F.2d 1507, 1508 (11th Cir. 1988) (quotation omitted).
Before bringing a § 2254 habeas action in federal court, a petitioner must exhaust all state court remedies that are available for challenging his state conviction. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b), (c). To exhaust state remedies, the petitioner must "fairly present[ ]" every issue raised in his federal petition to the state's highest court, either on direct appeal or on collateral review. Castille v. Peoples, 489 U.S. 346, 351 (1989) (emphasis omitted). As the United States Supreme Court has explained:
Before seeking a federal writ of habeas corpus, a state prisoner must exhaust available state remedies, 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)(1), thereby giving the State the "'"opportunity to pass upon and correct" alleged violations of its prisoners' federal rights.'" Duncan v. Henry, 513 U.S. 364, 365, 115 S. Ct. 887, 130 L.Ed.2d 865 (1995) (per curiam) (quoting Picard v. Connor, 404 U.S. 270, 275, 92 S. Ct. 509, 30 L.Ed.2d 438 (1971)). To provide the State with the necessary "opportunity," the prisoner must "fairly present" his claim in each appropriate state court (including a state supreme court with powers of discretionary review), thereby alerting that court to the federal nature of the claim. Duncan, supra, at 365-366, 115 S. Ct. 887; O'Sullivan v. Boerckel, 526 U.S. 838, 845, 119 S. Ct. 1728, 144 L.Ed.2d 1 (1999).
Baldwin v. Reese, 541 U.S. 27, 29 (2004); see also O'Sullivan v. Boerckel, 526 U.S. 838, 845 (1999) ()
To fairly present a claim, the petitioner must present it to the state courts as a federal, constitutional claim rather than as a matter of state law. See Duncan, 513 U.S. at 365-66; Preston v. Sec'y, Fla. Dep't of Corr., 785 F.3d 449, 456-59 (11th Cir. 2015).To do so, a petitioner can include "the federal source of law on which he relies or a case deciding such a claim on federal grounds, or by simply labeling the claim 'federal.'" Baldwin, 541 U.S. at 32. But raising a state law claim that "is merely similar to the federal habeas claim is insufficient to satisfy the fairly presented requirement." Duncan, 513 U.S. at 366. Likewise, merely citing to the federal constitution is insufficient to exhaust a claim in state court. Anderson v. Harless, 459 U.S. 4, 7 (1982); see also McNair v. Campbell, 416 F.3d 1291, 1302 (11th Cir. 2005) () (quoting Kelley v. Sec'y for the Dep't of Corr., 377 F.3d 1317, 1343-44 (11th Cir. 2004)). As explained by the Eleventh Circuit:
To "fairly present" a claim, the petitioner is not required to cite "book and verse on the federal constitution." Picard v. Connor, 404 U.S. 270, 278, 92 S. Ct. 509, 30 L.Ed.2d 438 (1971) (quotation omitted). Nevertheless, a petitioner does not "fairly present" a claim to the state court "if that court must read beyond a petition or a brief (or a similar document) that does not alert it to the presence of a federal claim in order to find material, such as a lower court opinion in the case, that does so." Baldwin, 541 U.S. at 32, 124 S. Ct. 1347. In other words, "to exhaust state remedies fully the petitioner must make the state court aware that the claims asserted present federal constitutional issues." Jimenez v. Fla. Dep't of Corr., 481 F.3d 1337, 1342 (11th Cir. 2007) (quoting Snowden v. Singletary, 135 F.3d 732, 735 (11th Cir.1998)) (concluding that the petitioner's claims were raised where the petitioner had provided enough information about the claims (and citations to Supreme Court cases) to notify the state court that the challenges were being made on both state and federal grounds).
Lucas v. Sec'y, Dep't of Corr., 682 F.3d 1342, 1352 (11th Cir. 2012). "The crux of the exhaustion requirement is simply that the petitioner must have put the state court on notice that he intended to raise a federal claim." Preston, 785 F.3d at 457 (11th Cir.2015); see also French v. Warden, Wilcox State Prison, 790 F.3d 1259, 1270-71 (11th Cir. 2015), cert. denied, 136 S. Ct. 815 (2016).
"[W]hen 'the petitioner fails to raise the [federal] claim in state court and it is clear from state law that any future attempts at exhaustion would be futile," a procedural default occurs. Owen v. Sec'y, Dep't of Corr., 568 F.3d 894, 908 n.9 (11th Cir. 2009) (quotation omitted); see also Smith v. Jones, 256 F.3d 1135, 1138 (11th Cir. 2001) (). In such circumstances, federal habeas review of the claim is typically precluded. Pope v. Sec'y for Dep't of Corr., 680 F.3d 1271, 1284 (11th Cir. 2012); Smith, 256 F.3d at 1138. Nevertheless, a federal court may still consider the claim if a state habeas petitioner can show either (1) cause for and actual prejudice from the default; or (2) a fundamental miscarriage of justice. See Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. 722, 750 (1991); Ward v. Hall, 592 F.3d 1144, 1157 (11th Cir. 2010).
To show cause for a procedural default, "the petitioner must demonstrate 'some objective factor external to the defense' that impeded his effort to raise the claim properly in state court." Ward, 592 F.3d at 1157 (quoting Murray v. Carrier, 477 U.S. 478, 488 (1986)). "[T]o show prejudice, a petitioner must demonstrate that 'the errors at trial actually and...
To continue reading
Request your trial